Combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for 12-point members

ABSTRACT

A wrench for rotating a 12-point member, such as a nut or bolt of the type frequently used in industry and particularly in aircraft industry, the wrench including a body having spaced apart jaws extending therefrom, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw, and the other being a backup jaw, the jaws having a continuous surface therebetween encompassing at least portions of eight of the projecting points of the 12-point member to be rotated, the other end of the torqueing jaw having a notch therein, the notch being configured to receive one of the projecting points on the 12-point member and the backup jaw having an inclined surface at the outer end thereof configured to engage one of the projecting points of the 12-point member to be rotated, whereby the wrench is adaptable to receive a 12-point member between the jaws to apply high torque to it in either direction and to engage a 12-point member at the outer end of the jaws so as to impart torque on the member when the wrench is rotated in one direction and to slide upon the peripheral surfaces when the wrench is rotated in the opposite direction so as to ratchet the member by reciprocation of the wrench.

United States Patent [1 1 Evans 1*Sept. 16, 1975 [75] Inventor: James P. Evans, Oklahoma City,

Okla.-

[73] Assignee: Paul H. Johnson, Tulsa, Okla.

[ Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Nov. 26, 1991, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Jan. 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 431,035

[52] US. Cl. 81/119 [51] Int. Cl. B25B 13/46; B25B 13/08 [58] Field of Search 81/1 19 [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 289,703 5/1928 United Kingdom 81/1 19 Primary Examiner-A1 Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-James G. Smith 57 1 ABSTRACT A wrench for rotating a 12-point member, such as a nut or bolt of the type frequently used in industry and particularly in aircraft industry, the wrench including a body having spaced apart jaws extending therefrom, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw, and the other being a backup jaw, the jaws having a continuous surface therebetween encompassing at least portions of eight of the projecting points of the 12-point member to be rotated, the other end of the torqueing jaw having a notch therein, the notch being configured to receive one of the projecting points on the 12-point member and the backup jaw having an inclined surface at the outer end thereof configured to engage one of the projecting points of the 12-point member to be rotated, whereby the wrench is adaptable to receive a l2-point member between the jaws to apply high torque to it in either direction and to engage a 12- point member at the outer end of the jaws so as to impart torque on the member when the wrench is rotated in one direction and to slide upon the peripheral surfaces when the wrench is rotated in the opposite direction so as to ratchet the member by reciprocation of the wrench.

4 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEBSEF 1 ems 3, 905,255

SHEET 2 0f 2 COMBINATION TGRQUEING AND RATCI-IETING WRENCH FOR 12.-POINT MEMBERS BACKGROUND, SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION A type of nut and bolt frequently employed in the aircraft industry and in some other applications wherein extremely high torque is required with a minimum of material and space, is the 12-point member. In effect, the twelve point member has generally the configuration of a hexagonal but with projecting points between the hexagonal corners. Thus a 12-point member provides 12 different projecting points and 12 contact surfaces by which torque may be applied. The configuration of the 12-point member is a symetrical polygon with 24 equal sides, each intersecting adjacent sides at equal angles.

The type of wrench which has been in common usage for 12-point members is the box-in or socket type. The box-in wrench is of common type having a handle with an opening at the end, the interior circumference of the opening being configured to slidably receive the 12- point member. The socket type includes a cylindrical opening having a configuration to slidably receive the member with means provided for rotating the socket.

The only type of hand wrench without moving parts commonly employed to rotate a 12-point member is the box end. This wrench is capble of applying maximum torque to the 12 -point member but must be removed from engagement with the member each time a new bite is to be obtained in order to rotate the member. For speedy rotation of the member some type of tool must be employed utilizing the socket arrangement. Socket type tools work effectively, however, they are expensive.

The present invention is directed towards an inexpensive hand wrench which has the unique advantage of being adapted to apply high torque to a 12-point member and in addition, of providing means of ratcheting the member, that is, rotating the member without removing the wrench from engagement with the member peripheral surface.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved hand wrench for 12-point members.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved wrench for ratcheting a 12-point member, the wrench having no moving parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved wrench for applying high torque to a 12-point member utilizing one set of wrench surfaces and ratcheting a l2-point member utilizing another set of wrench surfaces, in a combination having no moving parts.

These general objects, as well as other and more specific objects of the invention will be fulfilled in the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION F VIEWS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a twelve point wrench as might be employed in practicing the invention, the wrench being shown with an open end configuration at one end to engage one size 12-point member to either apply high torque to the member, or ratchet it and the other end being of the same configuration and for the same purpose but dimensioned for a different size 12- point member.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an embodiment of the invention showing the wrench receiving a 12-point member for applying high torque to the member.

FIG. 3 is a view of the embodiment of the invention showing the wrench ratcheting surface engaging a 12- point member as the Wrench is employed in ratcheting the member.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the sequences of the positions of the wrench employed to ratchet a 12-point member. FIG. 4 shows the wrench engaging a member and when the wrench is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, the member is rotated in the same direction as indicated by the arrow within the member. FIG. 5 shows the sequence after the wrench has been rotated showing the rotation of the member. FIG. 6 shows the wrench being rotated in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow and the member not moving since the wrench surfaces slide upon the peripheral surface of the member and do not impart any torque to it.

FIG. '7 shows the wrench embodied in the crow foot arrangement.

FIG. 8 shows an alternate embodiment of the wrench design. A 12-point member to be rotated is shown received in the wrench by which torque can be applied in either direction to the member.

FIG. 9 shows the embodiment of FIG. 8 as the wrench engages a 12-point member for ratcheting of the member.

FIG. 10 shows the embodiment of FIG. 8 in the position of the wrench as it is ratcheted relative to the 12- point member, the wrench being rotated counterclockwise with the ratcheting surfaces sliding upon the periphery of the member.

FIG. 11 shows a second alternate embodiment of the invention receiving a 12-point member in the torqueing position.

FIG. 12 shows the embodiment of FIG. 11 with the wrench applied to a 12-point member for ratcheting thereof.

FIG. 13 shows the embodiment of FIG. 11 in a slightly alternate arrangement with the wrench in ratcheting position relative to a l2-point member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, a typical embodiment of the invention is shown. The wrench includes a handle portion 10 having at the left end thereof a wrench body portion 12. In like manner, a wrench body portion 14 is integrally formed at the right end. Integrally formed with the wrench body 12 is a torqueing jaw 16 and a backup jaw 18. These features are disclosed in somewhat a larger view in FIG. 2 to which reference will now be made.

The torqueing jaw 16 has a high torqueing surface 20 formed facing backup jaw 18. In like manner, backup jaw 18 has a high torqueing surface 22 facing torqueing jaw 16. The body portion 12 includes torqueing surface 24 between jaws 16 and 18. The torqueing surface 20, 22, 24 is an uninterrupted surface configured to slidably but snugly receive the major portion of the peripheral surface of a 12-point member 26.

In the preferred arrangement, as illustrated, the torqueing surfaces 20, 22 and 24 encompass all or at least a portion of eight of the I2-point member 26 projecting points. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2, surface 20, 22 and 24 engages the exterior configuration of eight of the l2-point projecting points and onehalf of the ninth projecting point. Since the 12-point member 26 has 24 equal length surfaces in the arrangement of FIG. 2 the wrench contacts 17 of the 24 surfaces. It can be seen that since a substantial portion, such as 17/24 of the peripheral surface of the 12-point member 26 is engaged by the wrench, the wrench may impart high torque to the member when the wrench is rotated in either direction. In this method of use, the wrench functions in the nature of a box end wrench. Each time the member 26 is rotated by rotation of the wrench through an arch utilizing surfaces 20, 22, 24, the wrench must be disengaged from the member and returned to a second place to obtain a new bite on the member.

Between the outer ends of jaws 16 and 18 is an open space which is less in length than the diameter of the member 26.

The outer end of torqueing jaw 16 is formed of three surfaces: a planar surface 28, first notch surface 30 and second notch surface 32. The three surfaces 28, 30 and 32 conform to three adjacent surfaces on the 12-point member 26 and are thus configured to engage 3/24 of the periphery of the 12-point member 26, as shown in FIG. 3.

The outer end of backup jaw 18 includes a planar surface 34 positioned to engage one of the 24 planar surfaces on the periphery of the 12-point member 26. As shown in FIG. 3 counting from and including the projection of the twelve point member 26 which contacts the torqueing jaw planar surface jaw 32, the contract surface 34 of the backup jaw 18 engages one surface of the sixth projection.

With the wrench in contact with the 12-point member 26 as shown in FIG. 3, and with the wrench rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown by the left arrow on the handle portion 10, the notch surface 32 engages one of the flat projecting surfaces on the periphery of member 26 and the contact surface 34 engages a flat surface which is almost directly opposed. Thus with the wrench rotated in the counterclockwise direction member 26 is rotated in that direction.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the sequence of operation of the wrench in the ratcheting mode. In FIG. 4 the wrench engages a member 26 and with the wrench rotated in the clockwise direction the member is rotated in the clockwise direction toward the position shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the wrench can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 6. While rotating counterclockwise the wrench slides upon the peripheral surfaces of member 26 and does not impart any torque to it. The wrench may be rotated in the direction as shown in FIG. 6 through an arch and then when rotated in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 4 the wrench will again engage the peripheral surface of the member and apply torque to it. Thus by a sequence of arcurate ratcheting motions of the wrench the member 26 may be rotated without removing the wrench from contact with the peripheral surface of the member. Thus the wrench ratchets the 12- point member 26 in a manner without utilizing movable parts.

It can be seen that the wrench is unique in that it provides a means for applying high torque in either direction when a 12-point member is engaged as shown in FIG. 2. In this manner of engagement the wrench functions in the same way as an ordinary box end Wrench. However, the wrench, in addition to providing high torque engagement with a 12-point member, provides for ratcheting of the member as shown in FIGS. 3 through 6.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate arrangement of the invention in what is commonly termed the crow foot embodiment. Here the handle portion 10 includes an opening 36 which is designed to receive a square metal projection of a removable handle (not shown). Other than the means of attaching a removable handle the function of the arrangement of I FIG. 7 is the same as that for the other figures.

The exact configuration of surfaces 28, 30 and 32 at the outer end of torqueing jaw 16 and the surface 34 at the outer end of backup jaw 18 may vary somewhat while keeping within the principles of this invention. The surfaces 30 and 32 form a notch. In the preferred arrangement the notch should conform substantially to the peripheral surface of a projection of the l2-point member to which the wrench is designed to fit. However, it can be seen that the most important requirement of the outer ends of the jaws is that the second notch surface 32 engages a flat surface of a projection and that the contact surface 34 at the outer end of backup jaw 18 engages a planar surface of another projection spaced from the first on the peripheral surface of the 12-point member 26.

FIGS. 8 through 13 show alternate embodiments of the wrench design which accomplish the same purposes in essentially the same ways as has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7. Comparing FIG. 8 with FIG. 2 it can be seen that in FIG. 8 the planar surface 28 on the torqueing jaw is not employed. The wrench of FIG. 8 ratchets by engaging a l2-point member utilizing the notch formed by surfaces 30 and 32 and the planar contact surface 34 on the backup jaw in the same way as for FIG. 2. This arrangement permits the torqueing jaw 16 to be slightly shorter. In addition, in the arrangement of FIG. 8 the backup jaws 18 are shortened slightly when the 12-point member is engaged in the torque mode as in FIG. 8. Contact is made with the peripheral surfaces of eight of the member projections, however, unlike the arrangement of FIG. 2 no contact is made with any portion of projection number 9.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the wrench of the embodiment of FIG. 8 as used to ratchet l2-point member 26. With the wrench engaging member 26 as shown in FIG. 9 and the handle rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, member 26 is likewise rotated in the same direction as indicated by the arrow. When the direction of rotation of the handle is reversed as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10, the wrench does not engage the peripheral surfaces of the l2-point member 26 but slides upon the surfaces. When the direction of the rotation of the wrench is reversed, the ratcheting surfaces 32 and 34 again engaged the member to rotate it.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show another embodiment. Like the embodiments of FIG. 8, that of FIGS. 11 and 12 does not include the planar surface 28 as shown in FIG. 2 and therefore the portion of the torqueingjaw 16 which engages the 12-point member 26 in either the torqueing or ratcheting positions is essentially the same as has been described relative to FIG. 8. However, in the arrangement of FIGS. 11 and 12, as compared with the embodiment of FIG. 8, the backup jaw 18 is slightly longer, providing planar surface 38 which engages the ninth projection of the l2-point member. While planar surface 38 of backup jaw 18 is not employed in the embodiment of FIG. 8, it is employed in FIG. 2. The planar surface 38 as utilized in FIG. 2 and FIG. 11 applies additional torque to the 12-point member 26 when the wrench engages the member in the torqueing position. The planar surface 38 is not employed in the ratcheting mode in either of the embodiments 2 or 11.

FIG. 13 shows the arrangement wherein the planar surface 38 is somewhat elongated, lengthening backup jaw 18. This alternate arrangement functions in the same way as FIG. 11. Lengthening the surface 38 and backup jaw 18 serves to move the ratcheting contact further out on the end of the wrench and facilities ratcheting a member in confined circumstances.

In FIGS. 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13, the 12 projections of the member 26 are numbered. In the torqueing mode in each of the embodiments eight of the projections are encompassed and contacted by the wrench. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2, 11 and 13 one surface of the ninth projection is also contacted. Also it can be seen that in each of the ratcheting modes the notch in thee outer end of torqueing jaw 16 receives one of the projections and the contact surface 34 of the backup jaw 18 engages the sixth projection.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification, but is limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.

What is claimed:

1. A combination torqueing and racheting wrench for a 12-point member having 24 equal sides and 12 symetrical projections symmetrical the peripheral surface, comprising:

a wrench body having a handle portion and spaced apart jaws providing a member receiving space therebetween, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other a backup jaw, the surfaces of the torqueing and backup jaws facing each other and the surface of the wrench body portion between the jaws facing the member receiving space being configured to snugly engage more than one half the peripheral surface of the member to be rotated whereby the wrench may be slidably axially positioned over a member to apply torque to the member by rotation of the handle relative to the memher in either direction, the outer end of the jaws having an open space therebetween, the outer end of the torqueing jaw having a notch thereon dimensioned to receive one of the peripheral projections of the l2-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned, the notch being formed by an outer notch surface intersecting an inner notch surface at an angle of about 120, the backup jaw having a planar ratcheting surface configured to engage one of the peripheral projections of the twelve point member, such projection of the 12-point member being spaced less than one half of the periphery of the member away from the projection received in said notch, the plane of backup jaw ratcheting surface intersecting the plane of said inner surface at an angle of about 2. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a symmetrical 24 equal sided member having 12 equally spaced projections on the peripheral surface according to claim 1, wherein the outer end of said torqueing jaw is defined by:

a. a planar surface,

b. an inner notch surface, and

c. an outer notch surface, the three surfaces being contiguous and dimensioned and configured to engage three contiguous sides of said 24-sided member.

3. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a 24 equal sided member having 12 peripheral surfaces according to claim 1 wherein the torqueing surfaces of said torqueing jaw facing said backup jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said backup jaw facing said torqueing jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said body between said backup jaw and said torqueing jaw form a continuous surface configured to snugly receive eight contiguous projectiong points of said 12-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned.

4. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a 24 equal sided member having 12 symmetrical projections on the peripheral surface according to claim 1 wherein the torqueing surfaces of said torqueing jaw facing said backup jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said backup jaw facing said torqueing jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said body between said backup jaw and said torqueing jaw form a continuous surface configured to snugly receive eight projections and one contiguous side of the ninth projection of the l2-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned. 

1. A combination torqueing and racheting wrench for a 12-point member having 24 equal sides and 12 symetrical projections symmetrical the peripheral surface, comprising: a wrench body having a handle portion and spaced apart jaws providing a member receiving space therebetween, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other a backup jaw, the surfaces of the torqueing and backup jaws facing each other and the surface of the wrench body portion between the jaws facing the member receiving space being configured to snugly engage more than one half the peripheral surface of the member to be rotated whereby the wrench may be slidably axially positioned over a member to apply torque to the member by rotation of the handle relative to the member in either direction, the outer end of the jaws having an open space therebetween, the outer end of the torqueing jaw having a notch thereon dimensioned to receive one of the peripheral projections of the 12-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned, the notch being formed by an outer notch surface intersecting an inner notch surface at an angle of about 120*, the backup jaw having a planar ratcheting surface configured to engage one of the peripheral projections of the twelve point member, such projection of the 12-point member being spaced less than one half of the periphery of the member away from the projection received in said notch, the plane of backup jaw ratcheting surface intersecting the plane of said inner surface at an angle of about 90*.
 2. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a symmetrical 24 equal sided member having 12 equally spaced projections on the peripheral surface according to claim 1, wherein the outer end of said torqueing jaw is defined by: a. a planar surface, b. an inner notch surface, and c. an outer notch surface, the three surfaces being contiguous and dimensioned and configured to engage three contiguous sides of said 24-sided member.
 3. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a 24 equal sided member having 12 peripheral surfaces according to claim 1 wherein the torqueing surfaces of said torqueing jaw facing said backup jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said backup jaw facing said torqueing jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said body between said backup jaw and said torqueing jaw form a continuous surface configured to snugly receive eight contiguous projectiong points of said 12-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned.
 4. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a 24 equal sided member having 12 symmetrical projections on the peripheral surface according to claim 1 wherein the torqueing surfaces of said torqueing jaw facing said backup jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said backup jaw facing said torqueing jaw and the torqueing surfaces of said body between said backup jaw and said torqueing jaw form a continuous surface configured to snugly receive eight projections and one contiguous side of the ninth projection of the 12-point member to which the wrench is dimensioned. 